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GeoInsighter Summer/Fall 2001 Newsletter

New Hampshire Adopts Large Ground Water Withdrawal Regulations

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On May 1, 2001, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) increased its level of regulatory control over ground water use by adopting Large Ground Water Withdrawal Regulations. Up until the passage of these regulations, industrial and agricultural ground water users in New Hampshire were required to register their withdrawals if it totaled more than 20,000 gallons per day. The siting of community supply wells has been diligently monitored and regulated by the NHDES’ Water Supply Engineering Bureau; however, irrigation wells, industrial wells, and smaller community system wells have been relatively unregulated up to this point. 

Any proposed new well pumping at rates exceeding 57,600 gallons per day (40 gallons per minute) is considered a large ground water withdrawal subject to permitting under these new regulations. Applicants must show that the proposed withdrawal will not adversely impact existing water users or natural resources at any time. Adverse impacts include reduced withdrawal capacities to private drinking water wells, non-drinking water wells, and registered water users, as well as reduced surface water levels, impacts to wetland habitat/species, and reduced river flow rates. The regulations also distinguish between “major” large quantity withdrawals (averaging over 100 gallons per minute) and “minor” large quantity withdrawals (averaging between 40 and 100 gallons per minute). Complying with both the “major” and “minor” withdrawal regulations involves essentially the same steps, except that “minor” withdrawal applicants will benefit from increased involvement by the NHDES to help complete the necessary hydrogeologic studies, and the required testing plans will be less rigorous. 

The regulations involve a two-step process including, first, a preliminary application and, second, a final report. Applicants must first prepare a preliminary permit application that demonstrates the need for the proposed withdrawal, compiles geologic and hydrogeologic information regarding the wellhead area, and identifies water users and water resources that could be impacted by the withdrawal. The preliminary application also includes a withdrawal testing plan that can be used to evaluate potential adverse impacts to water users and water resources. This preliminary application is reviewed by the NHDES for comment prior to the commencement of withdrawal testing. Once the withdrawal testing is complete, an applicant prepares a final report that further evaluates potential impacts to water users and resources. If the testing documents adverse impacts to water users and resources, a monitoring and mitigation plan will be required before a permit is authorized. 

One crucial step in the process is the solicitation of public comment. Public water suppliers, registered water users, and municipal officials from towns with water resources that could be influenced by the withdrawal must be provided with a copy of the preliminary application. Furthermore, the NHDES is required to moderate a public hearing if one is requested by any of the parties or towns people notified. The main purpose of this notification process is to provide applicants with a comprehensive inventory of resources that could be impacted by the withdrawal. Following the public hearing and receipt of comments from the public, the NHDES is required to respond in writing to each issue raised.

Several preliminary applications have been received already for the new process including at least two golf courses, one bottled water company, and one proposed community supply well. One golf course, The Breakfast Hill Golf Course in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has received a permit and is in the monitoring and mitigation phase. 

For further information on the permitting process or regulatory requirements, you can contact Brandon Kernon at the NHDES at (603) 271-0660 or GeoInsight.

David A. Maclean, L.S.P
damaclean@geoinc.com

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